Spring is the beginning of the resurrection of nature and Nowruz, which falls on March 21st,is the commence of Persian New Year. According to millennia-old traditions, Iranians engage in renewing their clothes and almost everything around in the run-up to spring, was stated in the note by the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Mahmoud Heidari, on the arrival of spring and the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
They believe they have to not only renew their clothes and appearances but also their hearts just like the way nature renews itself. According to ancient Iranian and Islamic traditions, people put aside any grudge and resentment they hold against others and which are making their hearts dark and grim and by doing this they rejuvenate their hearts in addition to their clothes and appearance.
Nowruz, down the line in history, has always been the harbinger of joy and the tune of peace and love for other human beings by Iranians and they have offered this to the humanity like a bouquet. Nowruz is the beginning of growth; resurrection of nature when everything is alive and green again, the planting of the seeds of goodness in the farms of humanity which grow into friendship, peace, well-being, justice, and kindness among the humans.
The spring and Nowruz this year have an unwanted guest. A guest is working to sabotage all the liveliness and beauty of spring to the appearance and hearts of peoples. The devastating and destructive virus called the coronavirus is guest to people all over the world. One of the places which have been affected the most is Iran in a way that even Nowruz festivities have also been infected. Instead of celebrating Nowruz, some families are now mourning the loss of one or more of their loved ones. Some groups, instead of making preparations for Nowruz, are busy with preparing medical supplies and treatment equipment for themselves or their loved ones. This is while, unilateral and cruel sanctions have deprived the Iranian nation of its natural right to sufficient health and medical necessities. With the arrival of the new coronavirus to Iran and the resulting problems arising from the lack of supplies, the country is on the brink of a being a victim to a huge crime which has targeted the whole humanity and the human conscience. On one hand, the innocent people are facing the threat of the coronavirus. On the other, cruel sanctions have impeded the arrival of aid to them. The Iranian nation has proven that it has always stood up for the oppressed people all over the world in the past five decades. Even the vast propaganda campaigns launched by enemies could not hide this fact and all those free human beings and advocates of humanity certify this.
Recently, Iran’s President, Mr. Hassan Rouhani, has sent a letter to the head of European Commission and the head of the European Council, reminding the fact that the Islamic Republic is facing serious obstacles and shortcomings which are the results of two years of vast illegal sanctions, the maximum pressure campaign, and systemic sabotage of the government of the United States.
The Iranian president reminds that the defeat of the coronavirus is an international duty and saying: There is no doubt that in the face of a dangerous global epidemic, Tehran and Qom are not far from Paris, London and New York, and any policy that weakens the economic structure and medical system, and limits financial resources for crisis management, will have direct effects on the fight against the epidemic in other countries.
In the letter, President Rouhani says: Sanctions against Iran -and following them by other nations- are not only illegal and contrary to UN Security Council resolution, but also unethical and inhumane, and its inhumane dimension today concerns no longer only the Iranian people, but the people of the region, and it encompasses other countries as well; this is not a collective punishment of the Iranian people, but a collective punishment against all humanity.
The silence of the international community and freedom seekers around the world in the face of this inhumane behavior raises the threat of expanding them. Just like the deadly coronavirus that knows no borders or ethnicities or race or religion, the virus of sanctions also, regardless of borders and restrictions, infects all the people and those who have imposed them under unfounded reasons.
It is obvious that fighting the coronavirus requires coordinated and joint regional and international efforts on one side and adopting strict measures, procuring people’s essentials, providing the vulnerable people with aid and the businesses affected by the pandemic, spending vast amount of money on health and hygiene on the other. The implementation of these measures requires possession of a robust economy and allocation of tens of billions of dollars.
Therefore, it is expected that the bright hears and sublime human beings that care about the humanity do their responsibility to work to put an end to this illegal, cruel and uncivilized act which has been imposed by a hegemonic power to the world.
